Hamadtou is competing in table tennis, a sport where he 'holds' the paddle in his mouth, using his right foot to throw the ball in the air when he serves.<\/p>\n
In an interview with CNN in 2014, he said the decision to use his mouth came after he tried a number of options, including balancing the paddle in his armpit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"It was quite difficult playing table tennis after the accident," Hamadtou told CNN. <\/p>\n
"I had to practice hard for three consecutive years on a daily basis. At the beginning, people were amazed and surprised seeing me playing. They encouraged and supported me a lot and they were very proud of my willing, perseverance and determination."<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old father of three is a two-time silver medallist at the African Championships, competing in the class 6 category, which is for athletes who can stand, but have severe impairments.<\/p>\n
Hamadtou starting playing three years after his accident, not accepting the absence of his arms as an excuse.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"In our village, we could only play, at that time, table tennis and soccer — that's why I played both," he said.<\/p>\n
"It was logic to play soccer first due to my case; then I played table tennis as a challenge."<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/KenGoodwinITV\/status\/1430605836385128453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n "I believe that nothing is impossible, as long as you work hard. This is the message I would like to send to people."<\/p>\n The Egyptian opened his Tokyo<\/a> campaign with a 3-0 loss to Korea's Park Hong-kyu, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9.<\/p>\n He'll be back in action tomorrow, when he plays China's Chen Chao.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"